Mikel Arteta was left rueing his luck after ignoring a strong warning from Chris Sutton as Arsenal were hit with two major injury blows against Sporting Lisbon.
The north London side named a very strong starting XI to take on the Portuguese side at Emirates Stadium on Thursday evening. After drawing 2-2 in the first-leg, Arteta certainly set out his intentions not to leave the game to chance.
He may have regretted that decision very quickly as the Gunners were hit with two major injury blows against Sporting. First, Japanese international Takehiro Tomiyasu was withdrawn after lunging into a challenge.
William Saliba then had to be replaced midway through the first period. Arteta cannot say he wasn’t warned that kind of situation could befall the Gunners.
Former Premier League striker Sutton previously suggested that whilst the Spaniard’s commitment to the Europa League was admirable, it could come back to bite the Gunners in their battle to secure the Premier League title.
Speaking to the BBC, the former Blackburn and Chelsea marksman said: "Away in Lisbon, he [Arteta] started Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli. If you're an Arsenal fan, you will be saying that is great to go for two trophies, but Arsenal are in such an impressive position in the league that if either got injured, they are enormous players.
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"We understand about prioritising but who expected Arsenal to be in this position at this moment in time? Nobody expected it, the fans, players or Mikel Arteta certainly wouldn’t have expected it.
"While I take my hat off to them for going strong in the Europa League, just imagine it is a risk that someone might get injured. I am all for managers going full hit to try and win all four competitions. But Arsenal may dominate the league for years. I don’t necessarily think they will, although this is a one-off season where they are nearly over the line in the league."
Arteta will hope that he is not without Takehiro or Saliba for the foreseeable future. The latter has become a key cog for the north London side this season after starting every Premier League game.
The Japanese right-back has not been as much of an automatic starter this term having found himself behind Ben White, who has been moved from his more conventional centre-back berth. Speaking ahead of the clash with Sporting, Arteta explained why he had selected such a strong side.
He said: "We always said from the beginning of the season that we are going to approach every competition daily. The fact that you start in one competition doesn't mean you will continue [to start].
"I think we've been very consistent on that. Today, we picked the best team we believe is the best to start because it will be a long game."
